Is it best to only write about what you know?

I read in one of the hubs recently you should "write what you know" if you want to create a great hub that is most coherent and people will benefit from. I am curious if the successful hubbers here stick to this or whether you also would research a topic you know nothing about, but are very interested in, and then make a hub from your research.

As long as you do not outsource writing of your hubs, the first approach makes more sense to me - unless you are really good at research and do it thoroughly. The point is to avoid being suckered into popular misconceptions. If you know the topic - you are safe.

Like I know really nothing about pitbulls, and if I am to write a hub about them, I'm very likely to write how dangerous they are - based on readily available information. However, I know several people here who really know the topic - and all of them agree that this is a misconception and pitbulls are one of the best breeds to have at home.

I do a mix. Some of my hubs are written about things I know inside and out from personal experience, others about things that I'm very interested in, but have had trouble finding good information about myself. Once I've done all that digging and hunting, I figure I may as well share the results so other people interested in the same thing can have an easier starting point. My hub on bison ranching is an example of that. I don't own any bison and never have, nor have I ever worked them as a ranch hand. However, it is something I am interested in potentially getting into in the future (as soon as I buy a ranch, lol), so I've tracked down just about everything on the web (and in books) that I can find about bison ranching and my hub is intended to be a general overview of the subject with lots of links and suggestion about where other interested parties can find true experts.

I tend to write what I know, using research to fill in any gaps, but I do have hubs in which I either 1) knew nothing about the topic from the start or 2) know a little but I'm not all that interested in the topic. I find that those hubs where I write what I know and am interested in tend to do better for traffic and look better.

I've read quite a few hubs where the writer really doesn't know the topic at all. But I've only known that if it's been a subject I know about myself.

I don't think it matters too much if people write wrong info on sports, entertainment, etc. But I worry sometimes about all the amateur therapists out there, giving 'advice' on health, nutrition, relationships, etc. Some of it is downright dangerous and you can only hope people do a bit of real research before following any suggestins

The say "A good dancer is being judged by his passion" or something like that. No, you don't need to be an expert, but you need to be into it or fake it really way.It's like making love, unless you're into it, the chick will not get too much out of it.I can guarantee you that your readers will like your article if it shows fire.Lame articles suck, even when written by experts. So you don't need to write too much, just who people that you mean it and be yourself.Have an opinion, make a statement, make a joke or something.

The most successful people in the world are not always experts, but most of them have great communication skills. That my friend is where it's at!

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